Chapter 53.1

Saturday, 4:30 PM, Shenwang Starship Center.

The Operations Manager of Silin Zoo had just finished checking in their luggage when they spotted the Operations Manager of Fu’ai Zoo entering from outside.

Shenwang Star had no shortage of zoos, but the largest two were undoubtedly Silin and Fu’ai.

As both old rivals and friends, the two managers naturally exchanged greetings upon meeting.

Manager Chen of Silin Zoo spoke first, “Cutting it close today, aren’t you? We’re almost at boarding time.”

Manager Harry of Fu’ai Zoo chuckled, “Not really, just finished handling the animal transport.”

“Oh? What animals did you bring?”

“Just Roumei and Xiaoduo.”

Manager Chen nodded knowingly, “Your two internet-famous lionesses? Taking them to Four Bay Star for matchmaking?”

“Exactly. We’ve contacted several zoos there—they all have suitable male lions. Roumei and Xiaoduo are quite picky though. A zoo from Planet B11 even brought their males over, but our girls wouldn’t give them a glance. Those poor lions left completely heartbroken.”

“Hahaha,” Manager Chen laughed, “If only our Taiji weren’t so young. Give it two years, and he could win over both Roumei and Xiaoduo.”

Manager Harry waved his hand dismissively, “No way. Your Taiji is only a year and a half old. Roumei and Xiaoduo are already four. That’s a whole generation apart.”

As they chatted, Manager Chen’s light brain suddenly rang. Seeing Director Wang’s name, he quickly answered. After a brief conversation, he began scanning the crowd with worried eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Manager Harry asked.

“Director Wang just informed me they’ve added a last-minute participant to the conference. Guess who?”

Being sharp, Manager Harry quickly pieced it together. Recently, which zoo had been making headlines on Shenwang Star? The answer was obvious.

“Bi Ke Zoo?”

Manager Chen nodded, “Director Wang says their director is coming herself—that young girl from the internet. It’s her first time at this kind of conference, and she doesn’t know anyone. He’s worried she might be at a disadvantage and asked us to look out for her.”

As he spoke, Manager Chen continued searching the crowd, muttering, “But boarding’s about to start, and I don’t see her anywhere.”

Manager Harry pulled up Director Mu’s photo from the starNet and joined the search.

While normally industry peers wouldn’t go out of their way to help newcomers, they had no reason to antagonize Bi Ke Zoo. It was still in its infancy and posed no direct competition. Moreover, their traditional zoo model differed from Bi Ke’s naturalistic approach. If anything, Bi Ke Zoo’s popularity had boosted tourism for other zoos—visitors who couldn’t get in often chose Silin or Fu’ai as alternatives.

When they couldn’t find her and the boarding call came, they anxiously contacted Director Wang for her number.

“Hello, Director Mu? This is Manager Chen from Silin Zoo. Have you reached the starship center?”

Mu Ling’s apologetic voice came through, “Oh, hello! Yes, I’m already aboard. When I was handling the animal transport, the staff directed me straight to the ship. I was just about to ask Director Wang for your contact information. I’m so sorry—I didn’t expect this.”

Manager Chen frowned but said reassuringly, “No problem. As long as you’re aboard. We’ll meet you on the ship.”

After hanging up, he sighed to Manager Harry, “Director Wang wasn’t kidding—she really has no experience.”

“She boarded early?”

“Yes, apparently the staff insisted. She probably didn’t realize she didn’t need to accompany the animals personally. We’ll guide her later. Wonder what animal she brought though.”

Manager Harry joked, “Probably breeding animals. It’s not like she’d bring a war beast.”

They both knew Bi Ke Zoo was famous for its war beasts, so this was meant as a joke.

Twenty minutes later, aboard the starship, they stood frozen, staring at the young woman extending her hand in greeting. Though she smiled politely, their eyes kept drifting to the enormous backpack strapped to her chest.

“Um, Manager Chen? Manager Harry?” Mu Ling called tentatively.

Manager Chen snapped out of his daze, shook her hand, and asked hesitantly, “Is this… the animal you brought?”

Mu Ling unzipped the bag, revealing a snow-white fox with striking purple eyes. It pressed its head affectionately against her chest, letting out soft “ying-ying” sounds.

It was unmistakable—a Red Heart Fox. A rare breed renowned for its exceptional aptitude as a war beast.

Surely not…

“Yes, this is my companion—an S-class retired war beast, a Red Heart Fox named Lingren.”

They stood dumbfounded. She really had brought a war beast.

Taking two steps back, they asked anxiously, “Did you use a sedation collar?”

Mu Ling quickly showed them the red collar around the fox’s neck. “Yes, and it’s properly chained. The starship staff already verified everything. Here’s our registration.”

She displayed a small certificate pinned to her chest.

Seeing all safety measures in place, they relaxed slightly. “No wonder you were escorted aboard separately,” Manager Harry noted.

Starship regulations required war beast passengers to travel in designated compartments, separated from other passengers and animals for safety.

Mu Ling explained with a smile, “Yes, they said cases like mine require early boarding to prevent incidents. I also can’t sit with our other staff member—I must remain with the war beast at all times.”

Manager Chen waved dismissively, “That’s fine, but your fox… it seems quite stable. If it wasn’t injured…”

“It has a damage rating of 83.8,” Mu Ling interjected.

Both managers fell silent, then practically shooed her away: “Then you should hurry back!”

Seeing their reaction, Mu Ling agreed to meet them again on Four Bay Star and retreated to her private compartment—spacious but solitary, as required for war beast transport.

The journey would take ten hours. Feeling bored, Mu Ling lay down to nap with Lingren curling against her with its nose pressed to her neck.

When a flight attendant came with meals, Mu Ling groggily sat up, checked the time, and said thank you.

The flight attendant nervously glanced repeatedly at the backpack in Mu Ling’s arms and carefully asked, “May I take a photo with you?”

Mu Ling was used to such requests by now. Although she didn’t show her face in her videos, her appearance had long been discovered, and she didn’t mind. She smiled and said, “Sure.”

The flight attendant grew more excited, “Can the fox be in the picture too?”

Mu Ling was accommodating, “Of course.”

The flight attendant was overjoyed and successfully took a photo with Mu Ling, with Lingren forced to participate as Mu Ling held it facing the camera.

Thoroughly satisfied, the flight attendant chatted enthusiastically about how much she loved Bi Ke Zoo’s videos and the war beasts, saying she definitely planned to visit during her next vacation.

Mu Ling politely welcomed her visit. The flight attendant wanted to say more, but another attendant came in and called her away.

Mu Ling thought nothing of it and started eating her dinner.

After finishing, she took out some beast feed from her luggage bag, poured it into a collapsible plastic bowl, and gave it to Lingren.

The snow-white fox wasn’t very hungry and only ate half. It slowly climbed out of the backpack onto Mu Ling’s lap, tilted its head up, and called to her softly, “Ga.”

Mu Ling kissed the flower-like red marking on its forehead. “Good boy.”

“Ga,” it called again.

Another kiss. “Good boy.”

“Ga.”

Mu Ling laughed, ruffling its fur. “Are you doing this on purpose, you little fox spirit?”

As she spoke, she checked the fox’s paws and tail.

The bandages on its wounds were still secure and hadn’t been compressed during the journey, and showed no blood seepage. Mu Ling changed her position to hold the white fox, then opened her light brain’s holoscreen. Taking advantage of having the cabin to herself, she projected the screen into the air and started playing an animated movie.

The movie featured animal characters, with one of the main characters being a little yellow fox girl.